Stillwater: Church's request to demolish old houses meets resistance

Plans for St. Paul Lutheran Church in Stillwater to demolish two church-owned houses are being delayed by concerns about the buildings' historic value.

The houses at 604 S. Fourth St. and 216 W. Willard St. were built in the late 1800s and are adjacent to church property. The church wants to tear them down and create open-space parkland.

But the city's heritage preservation commission this fall recommended the request for demolition permits be denied. Commission members said they felt the properties were historic resources based on the style of the houses and the neighborhood identity, Stillwater City Planner Michel Pogge said Thursday, Nov. 15.

The Stillwater City Council in October indicated it would uphold the commission's recommendation.

Church officials then asked for a 60-day extension so they could meet with neighbors. A neighborhood meeting was held last week; the council will hear the church's request on Dec. 4.

"We have listened to the neighbors. We have listened to the council," said Kevin Shoeberg, a local attorney who serves as co-chairman of business management for the church. "We're trying to improve our facility, and that's actually going to be an improvement to the neighborhood because it adds green space."

The neighborhood meeting attracted four neighbors, three of whom supported the demolition, Shoeberg said.

But commission members said they felt there were viable alternatives to demolition, Pogge said.

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"If these two houses are houses that should be demolished, then there is a large area of our community that is at risk," Pogge said. "That really would impact both the historic character and the neighborhood fabric of Stillwater."

Stillwater leaders decided to strengthen demolition rules earlier this year after becoming concerned about the number of historic structures being razed without the city's OK, Pogge said. "There were houses being torn down that the city was concerned about, and then there was demolition by neglect," he said. "The city thought that was wrong."

City staff can approve demolition of structures built before 1946, Pogge said.

However, if city staff find that the structures are potential historic resources, they can turn the request over to the heritage preservation commission for review. That happened in the St. Paul Lutheran case, he said.